The complexing
conundrum we know as the
Calgary Flames continue
to confound any degree
of reasonable analysis.

Destroyed by the
lowly Phoenix Coyotes
7-1, the Flames came
back to take down the
defending Stanley Cup
champion Detroit Red
Wings only two nights
later, winning 4-1 in
front of 18,028 delirious
witnesses - a sellout -
at the Saddledome.

It's this incredible
inconsistency which must
be causing mentor Darryl
Sutter, one month into
his tenure, to pull his
greying hair out of his
head.

Then again, the
difference between the
two games might have
been a very simple one -
goaltender Roman Turek.

The Flames starter
was blown out of the
water against Phoenix on
Thursday night, pulled
after two quick goals on
only five shots then
greeted yesterday
morning by a local
newspaper saying he just
wasn't good enough
before finally being
ridiculed in the HNIC
pre-game show as the
reason the Flames have
floundered.

It hasn't been a good
last few days for Turek.

"Large"
responded to the
challenge, however,
turning in one of his
best games of the
season, stonewalling the
Wings through two
periods before the
Flames took over and
nailed the game shut in
the third.

The Flames netminder
eventually finished with
28 saves while his
counterpart, Curtis
Joseph, struggled,
allowing four goals on
29 shots.

"From the
Phoenix game to this
game there was a total
difference from the
goaltender on out,"
said Flames coach Rob
Cookson on FAN960.

The win leaves
Calgary at 17-23-7-3 on
the year, the goal of
.500 by the time this
campaign winds down
still realistic and
achievable.

The other goal, of
course, is to nab a
playoff spot but the
Flames got no help on
that front. The race for
the eighth and final
playoff spot occupied by
Anaheim got
significantly tighter as
Columbus and Nashville,
two teams tied with
Calgary in the
standings, also won on
the night while San Jose
and Colorado pulled out
victories themselves.
The latter moved into a
tie with Anaheim.

Calgary is seven
points in arrears of the
Ducks and Avalanche but
that's better than the
13 they were looking at
only a few weeks ago.

Flames finish their
five game homestand
3-1-1 and are now 6-3-2
at the Saddledome under
Sutter.

Rob Niedermayer
opened scoring for the
Flames at 6:47, stepping
into a thundering
slapper from the top of
the faceoff circle that
went clear through
Detroit starter Curtis
Joseph.

Calgary added to the
lead at 3:30 of the
second when Martin
Gelinas, playing with a
cast on one hand,
whipped a soft wrist
shot past Joseph on the
short side.

Mathieu Dandeneault
brought the Wings within
a power play goal at
13:52 but Jarome Iginla
then scored a
controversial marker at
19:30, powering a
slapshot into Joseph
with the puck finally
trickling over the goal
line by a hair breadth.

Dave Lowry sealed the
deal with an empty net
marker at 19:48 of the
third.

Flames played a
strong third period to
close this one out,
taking advantage of a
Wings team playing its
third game in four
nights and second in as
many evenings.

Brett Hull's quest
for his 700th career
goal came up short but
not for lack of quality
chances, Turek turning
back the Detroit sniper
on five separate
occasions from point
blank range through the
first two periods.

Hull scored his first
career goal as a Flame
against Hartford on Nov.
13, 1986.

He's had 16
consecutive seasons of
20 plus goals since that
time.

The fight card had
Bob Boughner and Brendan
Shanahan deciding to
exchange blows although
an unusual moment
occurred when Shanahan
waved off the linesmen
in mid-fight, obviously
wanting to settle a
previous score and
getting in the final
blow when he caught
Boughner with the final
punch.

Flames were zero for
two on the powerplay
while the Wings scored
once on their two
opportunities.

Next up is Phoenix on
the road on Tuesday
night.

Get
Your
Calgarypuck
Gear!

SCOREBOARD

Calgary
Flames

4

Detroit
Red Wings

1

1)
Roman Turek -
The goat one night was the saviour the next. Maybe he
heard Don
Cherry slam
him in the
pre-game
show.

2)
Rob
Niedermayer -
skating like the wind, hitting everything in sight, a
goal, a
crossbar and
forces Joseph
to make a
great glove
save in the
third
period.

3)
Brett Hull -
didn't reach the magic 700 mark but not for lack of
trying - three
excellent
chances and
two pretty
good ones.

Turek
made what
seemed like
five highlight
reel saves off
Brett Hull
one-timers
through the
first two
periods,
denying the
Golden Brett
numerous
opportunities
to notch his
700th career
goal.

The
last shot of
the first
period fight
between
Shanahan and
Boughner
brought the
Flames
defender to
one knee in an
otherwise
fairly light
hitting
contest.

Calgary
entered the
game a woeful
1-7-2 in games
where the
opposition was
playing its
second in as
many nights.
If you're
looking for
one of the
many reasons
Flames are
near the
bottom of the
pile that
would be as
good as any. .
. . . . Joseph
drops to
23-8-3 against
the Flames
lifetime . . .
. . Iginla has
nine goals,
nine assists
and 18 points
in his last 16
games, his
pace obviously
improving now
that his
injuries clear
up. He's plus
two in those
16 games but
still minus 14
on the season.
. . . . .
Notice how no
team coming
into Calgary
complains
about the
altitude
anymore? Maybe
it was those
great teams
the Flames had
in the late
80's and early
90's that were
the real
reason
opponents got
whacked at the
Saddledome.
But don't
forget -
altitude is
still a factor
in Denver. . .
. . . Yes, Rob
Niedermayer
has stepped up
his game
considerably
lately,
particularly
under the
tutelage of
Darryl Sutter,
but its still
difficult to
conceive he'll
be qualified
at $2.1
million or
thereabouts
next summer. .
. . . . A
crowd of
18,028 for one
of the
lower-ranked
teams in the
NHL continues
to astound. .
. . . . . The
good and the
bad of Micki
Dupont was
clearly
evident on the
night, a
decided
improvement
over Chris
Drury on the
power play
point but
caught several
times thinking
he had that
one extra
second to
clear the puck
in his own
zone, instead
finding a Wing
aggressor all
over him. He's
still playing
on AHL time
when the NHL
is a step
faster . . . .
. Flames were
54% in the
faceoff
circle, led by
Craig Conroy
at 52%. Pavel
Datsyuk was
60% for
Detroit. . . .
. . Toni
Lydman led the
Flames with
24:25 in ice
time and was a
plus two on
the night.
Niklas
Lidstrom
played his
usual 28:08
for the Wings.